Guest Post and Giveaway: Bound to Fall by Jaime Samms

The Novel Approach welcomes author Jaime Samms this morning to chat a bit about her upcoming novel Bound to Fall, releasing on June 26, 2015 from Dreamspinner Press.

Jaime’s offering the chance for one lucky reader to win an e-copy of the book on release day, to be delivered right to your Dreamspinner Bookshelf.

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED

Good luck!

I’m so very pleased that Lisa and Mary managed to squash me onto the blog today. Lisa for putting up with my last-minute-ness, you are a star. And Mary, you know, thanks for sharing your day with me. You so didn’t have to do that, and I love you for it.

I’m too tired to be funny. I’m too tired to be profound. I’m out of time to rest up so I can write something intelligent. I’ve decided I’m going to make a list instead. So this post doesn’t end up being a woe-is-me-fest of all the things I wish for every day (like time and energy and inspiration and the chance to sit In my garden and not see all the grass that needs cutting and weeds that need pulling….you see how fast that goes downhill?)

So my list is going to this: The things that make me happy right now.

The mug Mary gave me at GRL last year with art by someone whose name I don’t know right now, about a show I don’t even watch (The Young Avengers). But it’s two boys kissing and there is a constant battle between my teenage girl and me to see who gets to use the mug for the day. Today I win, but I don’t even mind that the mug disappeared into her school bag and then her locker where she used it for tea at school every day for months, because it tickles me that we both love the idea of pretty art depicting two boys kissing like they’re in love. One small mug, many great discussions with my daughter about why it matters.

The fact that as I type this, said daughter is sitting across from me at the table wearing Amy Lane’s Outbreak Monkey shirt, and the fact I haven’t seen that shirt other than in the laundry or on her back, since the day I wore it home from Orlando. I’m sad I don’t get to wear the shirt. But happy about the books we’ll get to talk about when she’s old enough to read them. (Or after she sneaks my paper back copies off the shelf and reads them because she thinks I don’t know she’s thought about doing that.)

The wild-flower meadow that is my thirty-by-thirty front yard. Because bumble bees. And song birds. And I don’t’ have to nag anyone to mow it. Or mow it myself, or waste water on grass that doesn’t like the desert-like conditions.

The sound of Canadian Geese flying by outside. Despite their greasy poop and the fact they will be flying by in the other direction in a couple of months, there is something about the sound that reminds me of good summer things.

In the midst of deadlines and work and spring recitals, it’s easy to lose track of the things that make me happy. The more overwhelmed by the stresses in life, the harder it is to remember the little things.

Maybe a bit of that came out in Pike and Eddie. They got so caught up in the dark memories, for Eddie, and the failing friendships for Pike, they forgot to remember the things that made them happy in the now.

Eddie forgot that acting was his bliss. He let the shadow of past memories take that away from him. Pike stopped seeing the horses and his joy of them without looking at them through the filter of losing his best friend by slow increments.

It took the mirror of each other to see what they had begun to overlook in their own lives. Even when Pike got so caught up in that dying friendship he lost track of what he liked until Eddie accidentally showed him what he didn’t.

Alone in the afternoon sunshine pouring through the new sheer living room curtains, Eddie stared around, satisfied with his work. The walls were still builder’s white and the hardwood still needed refinishing, but a thick area carpet lay under the brown suede-covered couch and chest coffee table. The new television stood on a low stand made from reclaimed barn boards flanked by a pair of tall wrought iron candle stands that had been wired to make lamps.

As he stood there, admiring the culmination of his plans, his phone buzzed.

He pulled it out and glanced at the screen, ready to tell Caspiri off once and for all. The text splashed across his screen pleasantly surprised him and he chuckled aloud.

Pike: You okay???!!! O.o

Eddie smiled and nodded as he texted back.

AEM: Fine why all the drama?

Pike: Some kids just passed me on the highway with my couch in the back of their truck!!

“Shit.” What were the odds?

AEM: Don’t panic. I got them to help me get rid of it.

Pike: WHY??!!

AEM: So dramatic. Calm down. Because you don’t need it anymore.

Pike: Where the hell do you expect me to sit?!?

AEM: Are you texting and driving?

Pike: Red light.

AEM: Put your phone down. Drive safe. I’ll see you soon.

Pike: Not done, dude!

AEM: Phone down!!!!!!

Pike:—\/—

AEM: LOL! What is that?

Pike: *angryface*

AEM: Stop. Drive. Talk when you get here.

There were no more texts, so Eddie assumed Pike’s red light had changed. He sat on the new couch and waited for his lover to return, sucking on his soul patch and hoping he’d done something good.

He heard the echoing clomp of heavy foot treads on the stairs long before Pike came banging into the apartment.

“Why are people stealing my couch?” he thundered, slapping his gloves onto the kitchen table, then doing a double take. “Where’s my table?”

Eddie eyed him. “That table would never have held your weight.”

“My weight? What?” He looked around the place. “Where is my stuff?”

“Most of it is all still here.” Eddie got up and went to the TV stand. He pulled out the antique wooden box from underneath and lifted the lid to show Pike that all his CDs and DVDs were safe inside. “The other ones have your game console and controllers and headphones and everything. You didn’t have a turntable, so we put your records inside the chest, but they don’t have to stay there.” He gave the couch a good, solid shake. “See? No wobbles.”

Pike turned to him. “Where. Is. All. My. Stuff?”

“Pike?” Eddie took a step back. “I—”

“Who told you to get rid of all my things?”

“Well, I—” …thought I was doing something nice.

Pike wandered the apartment, running his hands over the new furniture, opening drawers, and feeling the fabrics. “You did all this in one day?”

“Anthony and Derrek and Tiffany did most of it.”

“Anthony? Marconi?”

Eddie nodded. “From the antiques shop, yeah.”

“They did all this.”

Eddie nodded. “And his friend and his friend’s girlfriend.”

Pike scratched at the back of his neck, gazed around, and rubbed his fingers over his mouth. “I—I have to shower.” He left the room, entered the bathroom, and shut the door. Eddie moved to follow him, but the lock snicked into place and he stopped.

“Well, shit.”

Blurb: With so many fences between them and happily ever after, two men wonder if it’s worth opening the gate.

Ten years ago Eddie Crane, an actor on the rise, loved his costar and dreamed of the day they could be together. But his love, with his submissive nature, couldn’t handle fame, and before Eddie could help him, he died in a car accident—with Eddie at the wheel.

Now, guilt-ridden, Eddie buries himself in bad decisions and prays that a stunt—on or off camera—will go wrong.

Teenaged fantasies about the actor on his wall distracted Arthur Pike from real life—his dead father, runaway mother, gruff grandparents, and his unrequited love for his cousin’s straight husband. Now grown and off the farm, Pike is a horse stuntman hired to teach a reluctant Eddie to ride.

Pike is drawn to Eddie’s dominant nature despite the sadness clinging to the actor. Eddie let one lover down, but in Pike’s submissiveness, he sees the possibility for redemption.

About the Author: Jaime has been writing for various publishers since the fall of 2008, although she’s been writing for herself far longer. Often asked why men; what’s so fascinating about writing stories about men falling in love, she’s never come up with a clear answer. Just that these are the stories that she loves to read, so it seemed to make sense if she was going to write, they would also be the stories she wrote.

These days, you can find plenty of free reading on her website. She also writes for Freya’s Bower, Jupiter Gardens, and Total E-Bound.

Spare time, when it can be found rolled into a ball at the back of the dryer or cavorting with the dust bunnies in the corners, she’s probably spending crocheting, drawing, gardening (weather permitting, of course, since she is Canadian!) or watching movies. She has a day job, as well, which she loves, and two kids, but thankfully, also a wonderful husband who shoulders more than his fair share of household and child care responsibilities.

She graduated some time ago from college with a Fine Arts diploma, and a major in textile arts, which basically qualifies her to draw pictures and create things with string and fabric. One always needs an official slip of paper to fall back on after all….

Congratulations on your upcoming release of Bound to Fall. I just love the cover ;)

I like the blurb! It sound like an emotional read. I already put it on my wishlist and TBR list. How awesome would it be if Bound to Fall would be delivered to my Dreamspinner Press Bookshef on friday so thank you for this great giveaway :) .

I really like the covers from Dreamspinner and i love the blurb of this book, can’t wait to read it.
Good luck with your upcoming release of Bound To Fall and i hope you have a great release day on Friday. Thanks for the giveaway chance.